From Another World
by sparrowlove
Summary: Gilmore Girls, Supernatural, Heroes. The Winchesters and Petrellis discover things about each other and about their powers and destinies when they investigate a haunting at Yale. Originally posted on Livejournal.
1. Chapter 1

Call it what you will: a brother's intuition, a hunter's mind, or a best friend's heart, but Dean always knew exactly where to find Sam. This came in handy as he ran down deserted back roads, yelling his brother's name. Alleys led to more alleys that led to other alleys and sometimes dead ends where Dean had to double back.

"Sam? Sammy?" He didn't care if the thing they were hunting heard the yells. Either it had Sam and already knew they were there, or something else had happened that kept Sam silent, so Dean wanted to find him quickly. There was a muffled yell from a street to Dean's left. He turned, cocking his gun.

"Sammy?" Dean's deep voice echoed through the empty streets. But they couldn't be completely empty. The older Winchester brother made his way towards the sound of his brother's voice.

Kicking through a rotting fence, Dean saw his brother crouched down at the other end of the street with a gun in his hand. The figure approaching him was shrouded in black, and seemed to have no definite shape, flickering as it moved. Dean aimed for its torso and pulled the trigger of his gun.

The figure cried out and vanished completely. Then there was a thud as the thing hit the ground, reappearing.

Dean ran over to his brother. "You alright, Sammy?"

"Fine." Sam pushed him away and looked at the ground in front of him. "I think it's human." Dean looked where Sam was pointing.

A man with dark hair and a medium build was struggling to his feet. Blood gushed from his side. Dean guessed him to be in his mid to late twenties, closer to his age than Sam's, though the man had a face that could let him pass for a teenager. But then, so did Sam. To Dean's amazement, the man stuck his fingers into his wound and pulled out the bullet. Then he appeared to concentrate very hard on something, and to the further shock of the Winchester boys, the gash and bullet hole closed and healed, almost instantly.

"So much for 'I think he's human'," Dean muttered. He advanced on the man, gun drawn. His target held up his hands.

"Wait, don't shoot. Are you one of them?"

"What?"

"Do you work for him?"

"We don't work for anybody."

"Dean," Sam whispered. "I feel like I know this guy."

"What? Did you dream about him or something?" Sam shrugged. Dean turned back.

"Are you human?"

"Of course I'm human… I think," the man replied.

"See, that's where we've got a problem. Most humans know they're humans. So either you're a monster, your lying about not being sure, or you're some kind of invincible man. Since I don't have any Kryptonite on me and you're not wearing tights, I'm going to hope and assume it's not that one. So what are you: insane or a monster?"

"It's complicated."

"You know what's not complicated? Rock salt in your head."

"I'm human. But… I have something in my genes that most people don't. It's hard to explain. But basically, people who have the gene marker can do things that other people can't. Like… super things."

"Like…?"

"Like, flying, spontaneous regeneration, telekinesis."

Sam spoke up. "What about, say, precognition."

"There's an artist around here; he paints the future."

Dean glared at Sam, who ignored him and continued. "How do you know all this?"

"Dr. Suresh. He's a geneticist. His father discovered the whole thing."

"Can you show us where to find him?" Sam asked hopefully.

"To be honest, I'm sort of avoiding him. But I can give you directions. As long as you won't tell him you met me." He wrote them down on a piece pf paper Dean handed over. "By the way, I'm Peter. Peter Petrelli."

"Dean Winchester; this is my brother Sam. Hey, any chance you're related to Nathan Petrelli? I've seen his campaign signs plastered all over."

"He's my brother. I'm… kinda avoiding him too." Peter frowned. "I should go." Dean and Sam nodded, and watched him walk away.

"So what, Sammy? You think you've got that gene thing? Don't forget about the demon. That Peter guy didn't say anything about seeing one of those before found out about his powers, did he?"

"Well, no. But what if… I don't know. But it could be true."

"I don't know Sam; we don't know anything about this guy. For all we know, he and this 'Dr. Suresh' could be anything. Shapeshifters, serial killers, demons, anything."

"Or they could be like me."

"I don't want you going."

"You can't stop me Dean. I'm not a little kid."

"But you are my little brother."

Sam glared. Dean though, then spoke. "I'll go."

"What?"

"I'll go see Suresh. I'll tell him I'm you. See what I can find out about him."

"I don't think…"

"Sam, either I go or no one goes."

"Why not just come with me?"

"Why risk it? You go find us someplace to stay. I'll call you." Reluctantly, Sam agreed. Dean took off, address in hand, while Sam went looking for a motel.

When Dean reached the address that Peter Petrelli had given him, he moved his gun from its holster to the waistband of his jeans, for easier access. Then he knocked on the door. It opened slightly, and a voice said, "Who re you?"

"I'm," Dean coughed, "I'm Sam Winchester. Are you Dr. Suresh?" The man opened the door wider, thumbing through a stack of papers.

He spoke to himself. "Let's see here. Sam Winchester, yes." Then the doctor turned to Dean. "I'm glad you found me, Sam. I have some questions I'd like to ask you. But first," Dr. Suresh showed his guest the list and pointed to a name near the bottom. Dean suddenly felt sick to his stomach. "Do you have any idea where I can find your brother?"


	2. Chapter 2

It had been nearly a week since Nathan Petrelli had seen his brother. He tried not to show Heidi how worried he was. That would lead to a lot of awkward explanations. Sometimes Nathan thought about telling her about his powers. After all, if it was a genetic trait, the kids could be affected, but every time he thought about this, he talked himself out of it. He thought she was safer not knowing.

He looked at the clock. Red lights showed 8:02. Nathan got up. He had already missed dinner, most likely. He would tell Heidi he had to work late. With less than a month until the elections, that would make sense. She would believe it, she always did. Nathan picked up his cell phone, dialed the number he had called so many times in the last week.

In his apartment, Peter sat with Claude while the phone rang. They didn't move, as though Nathan would be able to hear if they made any sound. The answering machine clicked on.

"Hey, kid. It's me. If you hear this, give me a call. Please."

Claude snorted. "Listen to him. Is he trying to pretend nothin' happened?" He looked over at Peter, who looked upset. "Don't let 'im get to you, mate." 

"I need to call Mohinder Suresh." Claude sighed, but didn't try to stop Peter from picking up the phone.  
"Mohinder? Dr. Suresh?"

"Peter Petrelli?" Mohinder's voice was calm, but Peter could tell the doctor was straining to keep it that way. "How are you?"

"Fine. Listen, I have to talk to you."

"Peter, this isn't a good time."

"I have to talk to you. As soon as possible."

"Not over the phone. If you're willing to come by…"

"Now?"

"Why not?"

"Well… ok."

Mohinder Suresh hung up the phone. Then he picked it up again and dialed. 

"Nathan? Mohinder. He's coming."

"What?" Nathan replied. "He's coming? Where? I'm going."

"Wait. I want to talk to him first."

Nathan sighed. "I'll hang close by. Call me when I can come in."

When Mohinder ended the call, Nathan packed his briefcase and left his office, heading for the parking garage. At the same time, Peter was on his way to the apartment of Dr. Suresh.

He reached the door and knocked. A familiar man opened it, though it was not Dr. Suresh, who came into the room a minute later.

"Hello Dean," Peter said. "I see you took my advice. Where's your brother?"

Mohinder was clearly confused. "I thought you said your name was Sam."

"That's when I thought it was only my brother who had this… whatever. I wanted to protect the kid, you know?"

"Maybe he wants to do things for himself," Peter commented.

"I don't think I asked you how I should take care of my family," Dean retorted angrily. Peter backed off. Mohinder asked Dean if he would call Sam and ask him to come, and Dean did so. Then the three waited for the young man to arrive.

There was a knock at the door. Peter was closest, so he got up, undid the lock, and opened it. Then he quickly shut it. The knocking turned into pounding, and Peter was forced to open the door and let Nathan inside. Then he sat back down and turned away.

"Hello, Peter," Nathan said. The younger man glared at him, and then at Mohinder. The doctor quickly tried to avoid the fight that was about to start by introducing Nathan to Dean. It didn't work.

"Where the hell did you go, Peter?" Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"Not about me," Peter retaliated. "You were only worried I'd do something stupid and lose the election for you."

There was another knock at the door. Dean jumped up and let Sam inside. Sam introduced himself to Nathan quickly, as the Petrelli brothers argued, and said hello to Peter. Then he and Dean spoke to Dr. Suresh.

"Wait," he replied, when they started asking him questions. "I want these two to listen as well." Just then, Peter threw a punch at his older brother. Dean grabbed him and pulled him away, while Sam held Nathan back.

"Now," Mohinder said, "Sit down. All of you." Dean and Sam did so, and Peter obeyed, sulking, but Nathan walked to the door.

"If that ungrateful little son-of-a-bitch doesn't want to talk to me, I don't need to be here."

"Doesn't want to talk to you?" Peter spluttered. "I want to talk to you. You don't want to listen!"

Dean, always the leader, pointed at Nathan and then at the chair. "Sit," he said. Nathan sat.

Mohinder began to speak. He talked about gene markers, and the human genome project, and a lot of other things that no one else really seemed to understand. Still a little freaked out that he was on "the list" Mohinder kept referring to, Dean tried to listen, but then a headline on a newspaper in a pile next to the door caught his eye. 

"University Haunted?"

Dean figured that it was another crap story. Most hauntings that people other than hunters noticed were just practical jokes or easily explained by something else. But he began reading the article anyway. 

"As first reported in the Yale Daily News, strange things have been happening on the campus. Students report of seeing a young woman falling off the roof. Screams have been heard going past the windows. However, when the students rush out to try to help the plummeting woman, she is nowhere to be found. Of course, every college, every old building, has its share of ghost stories, but these are unique in that everyone has told the same story. Usually there are many discrepancies, as people make up tales to get in on the action…"

It was a stupid story, a 12th page filler article, but then something Dean read made him jump up. 

"On the building's roof, cell phones and other electronic devices suddenly experience power surges…"

Dean leaned over. "Sam."

"Shh…"

"Sam, look at this."

Sam read the article. "EMF?"

"Could be. I think we should check it out."

"Dean, I know you don't want to be here, but I want to know what's happening to me."

Dean spoke to Mohinder. "Dr. Suresh, my brother and I have work to do. Is it possible for us to come back in a few days?"

"What the hell are you doing?" Sam hissed.

"I don't know, I just have a feeling about this one," Dean replied. Sam groaned, but, as usual, ended up letting his brother have his way. Sam gave Dr. Suresh his phone number, so he would know where to reach them, just in case. They left the apartment and walked down to the street, where the Impala was waiting. As they started to get into the car, Peter came running out of the building.

"Can I come with you?"

"No, you're not a hunter. Why would you want to come with us, anyway?"

"Other than the fact that its better than being stuck with Nathan? I want to find out more about my powers, your powers, everything. Mohinder doesn't know a lot. His father had only gotten as far as discovering who might have the genes when he died."

"Ok," Sam said.

"What?" Dean looked at him. Sam nodded. Peter got in the car.

"To Yale then," Dean said. They drove out of the city and towards the college.


	3. Chapter 3

As they drove along the road to Yale's main buildings, Dean mocked the college students walking around the campus. Sam was slightly surprised to detect a note of jealousy in his brother's taunting. Sam knew that he himself felt a little envy for these people, who got to go to school and lead their normal lives, but Dean? Sam thought that the only things Dean really wanted in life were hunting and his family. And sex.

Sam looked a Peter. He wondered what Peter had been through with his… powers, to make him believe Sam and Dean without question when they explained what they did for a living. Not the credit card scams, the hunting.

Dean didn't trust Peter. He thought this man was possessed or something, explaining his lack of astonishment at the Winchesters' careers. Sam disagreed.

"Why then," Dean asked, as the brothers had a near-silent argument in the front seat, careful not to let their passenger hear, "was he so eager to come with us, when he didn't even know what we were doing?"

"I don't know, Dean. Maybe he just wanted some time away from his overprotective brother."

Dean got angry. "Well, maybe younger brothers should listen to their older brothers."

Sam ignored him. "I feel like we should trust him." Dean rolled his eyes as the car pulled into a parking lot. The three men got out.

"I don't think we should all just go barging in there, looking for the newspaper offices," Sam said. "Peter, would you go to the library and do some research? Look for hauntings, unexplained deaths, anything out of the ordinary."

"It's college," Peter joked, "everything's out of the ordinary." He set off for the Yale library.

"Should we really let him go off alone?" Dean asked under his breath. Sam told him to shut up, and they walked into the nearest building.

Dean spotted an attractive girl and turned on the charm. "Excuse me," he said, "Could you tell me where the news offices are?"

"Sure! I'll show you, I'm actually going there myself," the girl replied. Then she saw Sam. "Dean?" she asked. Sam blinked.

"Erm…no," he replied. "I'm… Sal. And this is James."

"Oh, sorry," the girl said. "You just look a lot like someone I know, a Dean Forrester."

"Maybe I've got a doppelganger," Sam said, smiling.

The girl laughed. "Maybe. I'm Rory, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," said Dean. "Hey," he said, pretending surprise, "Aren't you the one who write that story about Yale being haunted?"

Rory laughed. "Yeah."

"So… what do you think it is?"

"Other than an elaborate practical joke? Seems like something my boyfriend Logan would pull."

"Let's just say it isn't. What- or who- could it be?" Rory shrugged. Sam looked at his watch.

"James, we have to go. I've got a meeting with a professor in 10 minutes. Nice meeting you, Rory."

"Nice meeting you as well. If you're looking for the news later, the room's on the east side, right over there through that hallway," Rory said, pointing. The Winchesters left the building.

"So," Sam said, "What do you think?"

"Other than that you suck at thinking up aliases?"

"They make sense. Sal and James. Think about it."

Dean thought. "I don't have a red jacket," he finally said.

"You drive pretty damn fast."

"Well, I don't plan on dying young. Anyway, I don't know. If she had just made it all up, she wouldn't have dismissed it as a practical joke like that, I don't think. But whether or not it's really a haunting…" The boys reached the library. Inside, they found Peter looking at old rolls of microfilm. 

"I found four deaths that seem suspicious. I mean, there were a bunch of murders and suicides and other weird deaths, but a lot of people die weird deaths, and they don't all become ghosts, right?" He handed over some copies of old books and newspapers.

Dean looked at a story about a supposed serial killer who murdered three girls in the late 50s, while Peter read a microfilm article on hanging in a boys' dorm. Then Sam found something.

"Guys, look at this." He read from the article. "Yale changes suicide policy. The dean of administrations announced yesterday that the current student policy on roommate suicide will be changed at the beginning of next semester." He skimmed the rest of the article quickly. "I always thought this was just an urban legend."

Dean scoffed. "Sammy, we work with a lot of things that are 'just urban legends'. What is it?"

"There's always a legend around colleges that, if your roommate commits suicide, you get an automatic 4.0 grade point average for the semester, because they figure you're too 'traumatized' to do well in school."

"Yeah," Peter agreed. "People talked about that at my school too."

"Well," Sam continued. "It was true here, apparently. Up until 1970."

Peter thumbed through the newspapers quickly. He pulled an article out. "I was reading this one before you came in. I didn't think anything of it, but listen. A girl jumped off the roof of her building in late 1969. They ruled it a suicide, but some people think she was murdered. What if her roommate killed her for the grades?"

"Then she'd be wanting revenge, of course," Dean replied.

"But on whom? And why now?" Peter asked.

"That," Sam said, "is what we have to find out."


	4. Chapter 4

In New York, Nathan was on the phone. "Hello, officer, this is Nathan Petrelli. What? Oh, yes, I appreciate your support. I need to talk to your chief." Nathan waited for a few minutes while the policeman got the chief.

"Nathan!" the man said, "Good to hear from you. How're you doing?"

"I need another favor," Nathan replied bluntly.

"I don't know, Nathan. I've been doing you a lot of favors lately."

"How much?" Nathan asked.

"Two thousand."

"Done."

"How can I help you?"

"I need to find Peter, and I need background checks on the guys that he's traveling with."

"Well, I'll run the GPS on his phone. What are his companions' names?"

"Winchester. Dean and Sam Winchester."

There was a pause while the officer entered information on to the computer. Then he replied to Nathan. "Mr. Petrelli? I have good news and bad news. Unfortunately, it looks like your brother may be in danger. These Winchester boys are known criminals. There are multiple arrest warrants in their names for everything from fraud to murder." Nathan got worried. "On the bright side," the officer continued, "I was able to track Peter's phone. Yale University." Nathan dropped the phone onto its cradle and took off for the parking garage.

At the university, Dean and Sam were shopping in the trunk of the Impala. They brought rock salt, shotguns, and holy water to Peter, who was waiting on the roof of the haunted building. Dean offered him a gun. "You know how to handle this?"

"We're thinking the spirit is trying to tell something, since she's not hurting anyone," Sam explained, "but things could still get out of hand, so we need the guns just in case."

"In case we have to smoke the son of a bitch," Dean clarified.

"The spirit's a girl," Sam said.

"Whatever."

Peter took the gun and placed it on the ground next to him. Sam dumped salt around the perimeter of the roof.

"What's that for?" Peter asked.

"Ghosts are repelled by it. According to the article, the girl comes up those stairs and falls off the roof, but if the salt's there, once she's up, she's stuck, so we might be able to find out some information," Sam explained. Peter nodded.

As darkness fell, Peter, Dean, and Sam took positions around the roof. Dean faced the door with one shotgun, while Peter was off to the side with the other. Sam held the salt and a bottle of holy water near the edge of the roof.

They stayed there, silently, until the sky was black. Peter amused himself by testing out some of his powers. It made him a bit nervous, but Claude had told him to practice control constantly. Thinking about Claude, Peter flickered back and forth between invisible and not for a few minutes. Then he remembered Matt, the policeman he was questioned by after he went to Texas to save Claire. The mind reading policeman. Peter tried to concentrate on his powers, and listened to the Winchesters. Dean was remembering a girl he met in a nearby town. Sam was thinking about The List. He was worried. Something about demons. Peter felt bad for the kid. He could relate to Sam, and Dean reminded him of his own brother, trying to protect his younger sibling but not really doing any good. It wasn't Dean's or Nathan's fault, wanting to be the good big brother, but Peter (and by the thoughts he was hearing, Sam agreed) resented the fact that he was not trusted to take care of himself.

There was a noise in the stairwell. Peter turned to Dean and mouthed, "Is that it?" Then there was the unmistakable sound of a gun being readied for firing, and Dean shook his head, preparing his own weapon.

The door burst open. The figure in the doorway quickly took aim at Dean and pulled the trigger. The bullet nicked his stomach, and Dean fired back as he doubled over. This threw the shooter backwards with a shot of rock salt to the chest.

As the man fell, Peter heard him think, "I hope Peter's alright."

"Nathan?" Peter yelled, running towards him.

"Don't worry," Dean said, clutching his side. "Unless your brother is actually a vengeful spirit, he won't get much more than a nasty bruise. Son of a bitch should be glad it wasn't me using the real bullets; I've got much better aim."

"Dean," Sam said. "Shut up and fix yourself up." Dean turned his attention to his wound. Peter saw that Dean was right; Nathan was already beginning to stand back up. He raised his gun again.

"Nathan," Peter yelled, "what are you doing?"

"Do you know who these people are? They're criminals! Murderers and liars."

"They're not," Peter said quietly.

"You trust these strangers over your own brother?" Nathan pointed the gun at Sam and began to fire. Peter yelled and thought about the man with the sword whom he had met on the bus when time had stopped. The bullet ceased to move. Peter walked over and pushed it to the ground. Then he remembered Hiro again and restarted time. He walked to Nathan and took his gun.

There were more footsteps on the stairs. "What's going on up here?" a female voice said. Rory walked onto the roof. She looked at Dean who was still bleeding, and her eyes widened a little. Then she saw Peter and her eyes grew wider still. "Well," she said, gesturing towards Sam, "he's not Dean, and I suppose you're not Jess, but you look like him."

"Well, I'm not. I'm Peter. And this is Nathan."

"Hey," Dean said. "Move away from that door a little, would you? We don't want you getting a load of ghost running through you."

"I'm going crazy," Rory said, unsure whether to laugh or cry. "Either that, or all my old boyfriends have cloned themselves, and then _they_ went crazy. First there was Sal"

"Sam," Sam said. "My name's actually Sam. And my brother's Dean."

"Sam," Rory continued. "And now Peter. But I could swear you're Dean and Jess. But I know that's crazy. So maybe I'm crazy." She sat down in confusion.

"I don't know anything about Deans and Jesses, but you're not crazy, and we're here to help," Sam replied. Suddenly, the air turned cold. "Shh," he said, grasping the holy water. "Here she comes…"


	5. Chapter 5

A moment later, a girl clad in a tattered navy dress glided through the door. She moved to the edge of the roof, but was stopped by the salt poured around the edge. Rory and Nathan stared in shock.

"Oh my gosh," he said.

"It's… real," she said. 

"What do you want?" Sam yelled towards the spirit. "What do you want?" The spirit turned to star at him with her blank eyes. She raised a rotting hand and pointed a finger across the campus. Dean walked to the edge and looked.

"The biology wing," he said. Then the spirit pointed at the edge of the roof. Sam brushed the salt away, allowing the girl to throw herself over the side, as she had done so many times before.

"What the hell was that?" Nathan asked.

"Ghost," Dean replied. "Obviously."

"Rory," Sam asked. "Do you know how late the library stays open?"

"It's closed by now, until about 7 tomorrow," Rory replied. "But… I know how to get you in now."

"Let's go then." Nathan, Peter, Sam, and Dean followed Rory down from the roof and over to the library building, where the girl led them in through a side door.

"You don't seem like the breaking and entering type," Dean commented.

"My boyfriend taught me how to open this door. Anyway, I just saw a ghost. Suddenly a little B&E doesn't seem so horrible."

"What are we looking for now?" asked Peter.

"I think we were right before," said Sam. "I think that the girl's killer is one of her roommates. But we didn't know which it was. She had three."

"And now we do?" asked Nathan.

"Well, hopefully, only one of them was involved in biology," Dean responded.

Sam found the article about the girl's suicide. "The victim lived with three roommates," he read. "Amanda Meyers, Jacqueline Bryant, and…"

"Wait!" Rory said. "There's a professor here named J. Bryant."

"Let me guess what she teaches," Dean said.

"Yeah, biology."

"So," Sam said. "What are we going to do about her then?"

"You're not going to… y'know, kill her, are you?" Nathan asked.

"You didn't have much problem with people being killed when you were shooting at me, did you?" Dean scoffed. "But no, if the ghost wanted Bryant dead, she probably would've done it. It seems as though she just wants the professor exposed"

"We'll talk to her in the morning," Sam said.

"You can talk to her," Nathan said. "Peter and I are going home."

"No," Peter said. "You can go, but I'm not leaving."

"Peter, please. I don't want you any more involved in this."

"Maybe your brother's right, Peter," Dean said. Sam glared at him.

"No, I'm not leaving."

Nathan sighed. "Well, I can't leave without you so I guess I'm staying too."

"Aww, that's cute," said Dean sarcastically. Sam glared at him again.

When morning came, the group waited for Rory outside her first class. She had insisted on going with them, as she knew more about Yale than they did. When her class was finished, Rory came rushing out.

"Let's go," she said, and they entered the nearby science building.

Professor Bryant was leaving her classroom when Rory ran up to her. "Excuse me, Professor. My name is Rory Gilmore."

"Are you one of my students?" Bryant asked.

"No, I'm Paris Geller's roommate."

"Oh, so you'll want to apply for the internship then." Rory nodded. "Well, come into my office, I'll give you the forms." Rory followed her and the rest of the group discreetly waited nearby. When the teacher and student turned the corner, Dean pulled out a paperclip.

"Notice she didn't have a purse with her when she left?" He picked the lock of the classroom door and let himself in. The others stood guard by the door. Dean came back out a few minutes later with a piece of paper.

"What's that?" Sam asked. He looked at it. "Her phone number? What, are you going ask her out or something?"

"I thought of a plan to get her onto the roof tonight so we can confront her." When Rory returned, they left to wait for nightfall.

Around 9 o'clock that night, Dean picked up his cell phone and placed a call to Professor Bryant.

"Hello? Professor?" he stammered? "Yes, umm… I work for the maintenance crew at the university. We found some mold that we can't identify, but the company's closed for the night, so we called the dean and he said we should call you and ask if you would come take a look. We want to make sure it's not dangerous, you know."

"Well…alright. I suppose so."

"We're on the roof of the main building. Thank you ma'am," Dean told her, and hung up. "She's coming" he said to the others.

As soon as Professor Bryant walked through the door to the roof, she knew she wasn't being called to look at mold. The shotgun in Dean's hands was probably a tip-off.  
"What the hell is going on here?" she demanded.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions," Sam replied. "About your old roommate. The one who killed yourself."

"Who? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, but you do," Dean said. "We know you roomed together your third year. You were failing two classes and close to flunking out. But then, she offed herself, and suddenly little Jacquie Bryant has a 4.0 for the semester. That's quite a motive. Plus, the victim's spirit told us."

"You're just insane," the professor said. She looked at Rory. "How did a good girl like you get mixed up in all this?"

"It's true professor. All of it. Isn't it."

The professor changed tactics. "It was her fault, you know. I was failing due to stress and depression. Because she told me I should dump my boyfriend because he was cheating me. She didn't say it was with her."

"So you killed her," Rory said.

"We were on the roof. We fought. I pushed her. Not hard, but she slipped on some ice. She fell. I didn't mean it." Her voice was flat and cold.

"I'm calling the police," Nathan said.

"Don't," Bryant said. "Please. I've worked so hard to get where I am. I'll lose everything."

"Like the girl you killed lost everything?" asked Sam. He stepped forward towards the woman. Then, without warning, Bryant punched Sam as hard as she could. Being a small, middle-aged woman, this wasn't very hard, but it took him by surprise and she was able to grab the gun from the waistband of his jeans. She pointed it at Sam's head.

"Don't move," Bryant said. Dean raised his own gun. She looked at him. "Forget it. Even if you shoot me, I'll have plenty of reflex time to kill him before I go." Bryant put her finger on the trigger.

_She's going to do it_, Sam thought. He had looked down the barrel of a gun before, but that didn't make it any less terrifying. Bryant started to pull the trigger.

"NO," Dean yelled, in a voice Sam had never heard before. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, followed by the unmistakable crash of thunder.

Professor Jacqueline Bryant lay sprawled on the ground, Sam's gun resting limply in her dead hand. Rory screamed. Nathan tried to calm her down. Peter and Sam turned to look at Dean.

"Did you…?" Peter asked.

"I…"

"It always rains when you're sad," Sam commented absently.

"Son of a bitch," Dean muttered. "I _am_ like you."


	6. Chapter 6

Having their election, graduation, and freedom, respectively, at stake, Nathan, Rory, and Dean left before the police arrived. Sam and Peter stayed behind to try to explain the dead teacher near them on the roof. The police were skeptical about their story, but when the medical examiner came and said that the preliminary cause of death was electrocution and there was no sign of foul play, the police had to believe them.

"We're meteorology students, officer," Peter had said. "We have a project due this week, and we needed more data. So we were just working up here, when she came up. It was raining a little. She was raving about ghosts and her roommates. Said she killed her roommate in college. Then the lightening just… hit her." He didn't mention the gun. Dean had taken it before he left. The police let the two men leave, and they did so quickly. Once off campus, Sam called Dean.

"We have to leave," Dean said. "Wait where you are." A short time later, the Impala pulled up with Dean, Nathan, and Rory.

"Rory's promised only to write up the story you gave the police," Nathan reported.

"As though anyone would believe me anyway. Paris'd tell me to go write for the Weekly World News," Rory said, and laughed.

"Sam," Dean said seriously, "We need to leave."

"What?" Sam asked worriedly. "Dean, is everything alr…"

"We just… need to leave."   
Sam shrugged but said goodbye to the others.

"We should get going too, Pete," said Nathan. "Are you coming back with me?"

"I guess so," Peter replied. The Petrellis and Winchesters parted ways, leaving Rory behind. She never saw any of them again, except on television. Once, in mid-November, she saw Nathan standing in front of a crowd of people, a woman in a wheelchair on his left side, Peter on his right. They cheered for him, and he embraced them.

Peter had been going to see Dr. Mohinder Suresh almost every day since he returned to New York, looking for answers. When he had arrived in the city after leaving Yale with Nathan, he found that things had changed, despite the fact that it had only been a few days. Claude was gone, leaving only a cryptic note about a man with glasses. Simone had called and left message after message, but Peter didn't return them. It was rumored that the man known as Sylar had killed again. And, for the first time since he was a child, Peter understood his brother, and he believed that Nathan understood him. Things had changed.

Things had changed for the Winchesters as well. Dean was strangely quiet as her drove (even faster than usual). He didn't make stupid jokes, or sing, or throw things at Sam, or do any of the things that made him Dean Winchester.

When he reached out and turned off the radio- turned off _Back in Black_, no less- Sam spoke up. "Dean, you ok?"

"I'm fine," Dean replied in a very not-fine voice.

"Do you want to talk about this?"

"No, Sam, I do not want to talk about this."

"So, what?" Sam exploded. "Are you just going to pretend that nothing's happened? Nothing's changed? Newsflash, Dean: You can control the weather. That's not exactly…"

"You think I don't know that?" Dean yelled. "I know it! I just… can't handle it. I'm a freak. I'm a freak like you!" Sam's eyes got big and sad. Dean saw. "Sam, damnit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I just… I'm scared, Sam," he admitted to his younger brother.

"I know." Dean turned away. The brothers rode in silence, until a strange noise came from the engine of the Impala. It sputtered and died. The car coasted to a stop. Dean tried to restart it, but the engine wouldn't move.

He hit the dashboard. "Come on," he said. No word from the car. "Come on," he repeated, and hit the dash again. "Come on. Come on, come on, damnit!" He grew louder and hit the dashboard harder. "Why are you going this? Come on, you sonofabitch, start up baby, come on. Why the hell are you doing this to me?" Tears ran down his face and Sam put a hand on his shoulder. The sky was dark.

"Hey, Dean. It's alright. I'll take care of you. It's gonna be ok."

"That's not how it works," Dean sobbed. "I'm supposed to keep it together. I'm supposed to take care of you." Raindrops fell. "Dad told me to…"

"Well, he's not here, and I think you're doing a good job," Sam said. Dean took a long shuddering breath. Sam's words had clearly cheered him up a bit.

"I can't deal with this right now. We need a job."

"What? You want to take a job?"

"Yeah," Dean replied. 

Sam raised his eyebrows but opened his laptop. "Let's see, there's been a series of strange deaths in upstate New York. Looks like voodoo or something. But Dean, the car…" Dean closed his eyes. He sighed. He tried the car again. The engine turned over and then began to run. Sam smiled and showed Dean the map. "Maybe a day's drive?"

"A day? Bet I can make it in six hours," Dean answered, turning on the radio and pulling out onto the road. His voice joined Robert Plant's singing "Hey, hey, what can I do, I got a woman, she…"

Sam smiled, watching Dean. As they drove away, the clouds cleared, and the sun began to shine.


End file.
